TIP OF THE MONTH ON THE BALL Top flooring tips from F. Ball and Co. Ltd.
Stephen Boulton, Technical Service Manager for F. Ball and Co. Ltd., discusses the range of adhesives that are available on the market for modern flooring contractors.
General purpose adhesives are compatible with the majority of floorcoverings on the market, but every flooring project presents unique challenges and specialist adhesives offer a range of benefits for flooring contractors and customers. Understanding the needs of each particular setting and floorcovering type will allow contractors to deliver guaranteed, high-quality results.
General purpose adhesives can be used to secure a wide variety of floorcovering types, but an adhesive that works well in one setting might not be compatible with another. Rather than taking a gamble by using an adhesive that 'worked well in the past', F. Ball recommends that contractors consult a manufacturer's recommended adhesive guide in order to specify an adhesive that has been tested for the particular floorcovering and environment being worked in.
DESIGN FLOORCOVERINGS When installing luxury, high-design vinyl floorcoverings, contractors must be careful to avoid the incidence of trowel serrations shadowing through the finished flooring installation. Also known as 'grin-through', this sort of visual defect can undermine the aesthetic impact of the finished floor, leading to potentially costly remedial work.
Pressure sensitive acrylic adhesives are designed to dry to a permanently tacky film and can be trowel applied and then rolled with a pre-coated paint roller to obtain a smooth appearance. This reduces the incidence of trowel
20
serrations shadowing through vinyl sheet and tile floorcoverings. Pressure sensitive adhesives give strong initial tack and also a high bond strength that increases as an area receives foot traffic.
FAST-TRACK PROJECTS With so much pressure on flooring contractors, not only to deliver professional, long-lasting results, but also to do so faster than ever before, solutions are needed to bring areas back into use as quickly as possible. In addition to recent developments in fast-track waterproof surface membranes and smoothing underlayments, contractors in the UK now have access to some of the fastest flooring adhesives in the world.
Fast-track vinyl adhesives, such as Styccobond F5, have been designed to allow for maximum flexibility when installing a wide range of tile and sheet vinyl floorcoverings. Styccobond F5 has excellent initial grab and fast drying properties that allow tiles to be placed immediately, although it is advisable to allow the adhesive to dry for five minutes to significantly reduce the risk of tiles sliding. The highly versatile adhesive also offers an extended open time of up to 90 minutes.
SYNTHETIC GRASS Specialist flooring adhesives have been developed to deal with the needs of a diverse range of floorcovering types and settings, but few environments can be more demanding than the extreme weather
conditions that outdoor flooring projects are subjected to. Synthetic grass carpets and other outdoor floorcoverings, such as you might find at a tennis court or children's playground, require the use of specialist flooring adhesives that are suitable for outdoor areas. Resistant to water, oil and grease, polyurethane or epoxy adhesives offer the ideal solution for outdoor installations.
RUBBER FLOORCOVERINGS Rubber floorcoverings are a popular choice for schools, healthcare settings, and even ships, because they are durable, easy to maintain and offer good grip during wet conditions. The high bond strength and strong initial tack of specialist rubber floorcovering adhesives, such as Styccobond F58, makes them ideal for securing a wide range of rubber sheet and tile floorcoverings. Styccobond F58 is an acrylic emulsion adhesive and is protected against biodegradation.
To prolong the life and high quality of a flooring installation, choose the ‘right’ flooring adhesive from the wide range of products available, by taking several factors into consideration: seek advice from manufacturers to ensure the compatibility of the adhesive with the floorcovering, consider the environmental conditions that the floor will be subjected to and, finally, consider the type of floorcovering being installed.
www.f-ball.co.uk
www.tomorrowsflooring.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64